Process for making a highly plasticized vinyl fabric

ABSTRACT

A laminated vinyl fabric and a process for making the same, said fabric comprising a sheet of vinyl resin with which a major proportion of plasticizer is combined, said fabric also having been made by extrusion and promptly thereafter having been adhesively laminated at a relatively low temperature with a knitted fabric at substantially only wrap pressure. In one form, the knitted fabric is of an interlock double-knit construction with one surface thereof having a relatively small number of contacts with said vinyl sheet via an intermediate adhesive.

This is a division, of application Ser. No. 719,756, filed Apr. 4, 1985,now U.S. Pat. No. 4,764,412.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a vinyl fabric and method for its manufactureand lamination. In particular, the fabric is intended for upholsterypurposes and related uses.

2. Prior Art

The use of plastic and laminated plastic fabrics is a well developedart, especially fabrics for upholstering seats, benches, both fordomestic and commercial use as well as in cars. Various types of plasticmaterial have been proposed or used for these purposes includingpolyurethane and vinyl-derived or related plastics. Polyurethane has thedisadvantage of being relatively expensive, but does have someadvantages in terms of its being able to be used in thinner films. Beingthin, it has a certain compliance with the shape of the body thatenables it to be used for garments without being unduly tearable due toits high tensile strength. Those same characteristics also enable it tobe used for handbags, for example. When it comes to possibleapplications for upholstering, however, its cost makes itnon-competitive for many applications. Besides, when so used, ambientmoisture can break down the urethane component and render it powdery.This tends to reduce its overall strength.

Vinyl, on the other hand, is less expensive than polyurethane and hasbeen extensively used for upholstery purposes. It has certaindisadvantages when so used, especially when used with buttons for theupholstery, because the continual flexing of the fabrics upon impactwith the human body sometimes allows the button to fall out and thestitching holding it in place to tear along the stitch lines. Usually,vinyl is used with a backing of some kind so as to prevent some of theseproblems. Expanded vinyl, i.e., vinyl with cells formed therein byconventional "blowing" agents, is sometimes used for upholsteryapplications, but it has the disadvantage that folding of the expandedvinyl or flexing at the same place will ultimately cause the cells tobreak down. As a result, the fold line or the flex line retains thecreases for far too long.

In addition, vinyl must be so made that when used for upholsterycovering material, it will resist the constant rubbing of its surface bythe human body in use which will abrade its surface as, for example,when people slip into or out of a booth containing vinyl-covered seatsor benches.

Nonetheless, vinyl is still one of the principal ingredients of fabricsintended for upholstery covering.

In the past, vinyl-based fabrics have been available, but they have nothad as leather-like a "hand", i.e., the desired texture, suppleness, anddrape that real leather possesses. Sometimes this is the case becausethe composite, laminated fabric has the backing layer pressed relativelydeeply into the surface of the vinyl to which it is adhered either byheat and pressure or by the use of an intermediate adhesive under thedesired pressure conditions during lamination. When non-woven fabricsare used, their very construction tends to reduce the resilience,compliance or suppleness of the composite laminated material. Anotherreason for the deficient hand or suppleness is the vinyl compositionused. The elasticity of plastics such as vinyl is adjustable by the useof plasticizers, but it has usually been the case that vinyl sheets orwebs made either by extrusion or calendering processes are limited inthe proportion of plasticizer relative to the resin that may be employedwith out impairing the characteristics of the vinyl sheet.

The suppleness of a vinyl fabric is, in large measure, a function of theamount of plasticizer used. While ratios of 3:2 of resin to plasticizerhave been known, lower ratios approaching equality are not known to beused in extrusion or calendering methods of forming unsupported vinylsheet. With plastisol methods of forming vinyl sheeting, lower ratiosapproaching equality are known, but the types of resin and release papercarrier sheet used in making the fabric are considerably more expensive.

It is therefore among the objects of the present invention to provide:

1. A highly supple vinyl sheet material having a pleasing hand.

2. A vinyl-laminated material having excellent suppleness, hand anddrape characteristics.

3. An unexpanded vinyl sheet possessing excellent hand.

4. A vinyl laminate highly suitable for upholstery purposes.

5. A method of making the vinyl sheet material mentioned above andlaminating it to desired substrates for upholstery and kindred purposes.

6. A strong but supple, stretchable, upholstery fabric that does notsuffer from the effects of hydrolytic exposure.

7. A vinyl sheet material and laminates thereof which possess excellentcrease resistance.

8. A vinyl sheet material and laminates thereof for upholstery andrelated uses that is relatively inexpensive and has many of thedesirable features of real leather.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A vinyl sheet is made from a mixture comprising substantially majorproportions of vinyl resin and plasticizers and then extruded into asheet or web. The web is laminated to a knitted backing fabric at atemperature such that the integrity of the surface of the vinyl sheet isnot impaired.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a laminated fabric constructed inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a loop diagram showing the stitch construction of the knittedbacking fabric used in one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the stitches of the fabric shownin FIG. 2 relative to the needles of a cylindrical knitting machine; and

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the process and apparatus used inlaminating the vinyl sheet to the knit backing material.

DESCRIPTION OF THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS-VINYL PREPARATION

In order to achieve the desired leather-like "hand" and drape as well asthe other objects of the invention stated previously, we have found thatthe process to be described below has resulted in an extremelysatisfactory laminated vinyl fabric.

The first step is to compound a flowable, dry powder blend to be appliedto an extruding machine. For this purpose, there is first prepared amixture of polyvinyl chloride resin, with ground limestone. The resinmay be FPC 9339 manufactured by Occidental Petroleum and/or Epivyl 43distributed by Israel Electrochemical Industries of Haifa, Israel.Preferably, there are 50 parts of the FPC 9339 and 110 parts (by weight)of the Epivyl 43 although the former may be present in the range 0-160parts by weight and the latter 160-0 parts by weight. The groundlimestone may be present in the range 0-75 parts by weight although 50parts by weight was used to obtain extremely good results. Acommercially available limestone is "Verplus" distributed by the WhitePigment Corporation of Florence, Vt. Alternatively, calcium carbonatecould be used for the same filler purposes.

The resin and the limestone are put into a Welex 500 mixer having twospeeds of operation at 1700 and 3400 rpms respectively. Its capacity is500 liters and the two powders are mixed at 1700 rpm. After both areadded, the speed is increased to 3400 rpm and the temperature of thepowders rises to 120° F. At this time, a plasticizer such as aplasticizer oil is added gradually which is absorbed by the powders ontheir surfaces. The plasticizer oils can be 155-55 parts by weight ofDOP/EPO 93/7, a mixture comprising di-2-ethel-hexyl phthalate andepoxidized soya oil which has a relatively low molecular weight and goodsolvating action. We have found that using the mixture together with apolyester such as NUOPLAZ 6187 in 0-100 parts by weight has producedsuperior results. The NUOPLAZ has a high molecular weight and may beregarded as a permanent plasticizer inasmuch as it is not as likely torub off the surface of the vinyl web in use.

Following the addition of the plasticizer oil, color pigment paste suchas DOP paste is added in the range of 1-15 parts by weight with 7 partsby weight being found to be advantageous. At the same time, the heatstabilizer and the hydrated silica filler are also added. The heatstabilizer may be Nuostabe 1531 which, like NUOPLAZ 6187 is distributedby Nuodex, Incorporated of Piscataway, N.J. Nuostabe comprises liquidbarium, cadmium, and zinc components which prevent prematurediscoloration of the vinyl composition that is extruded. The hydratedsilica may be Zeothix 95 distributed by Huber Corporation and may bepresent in 0-10 parts by weight with 7 parts being found particularlygood. The entire components put into the mixture comprise a single batchof, say, 385 pounds and is processed for 7-8 minutes until it becomes adry powder having a temperature of about 180°-200° F. This powder isthen applied to a ribbon blender-cooler having a 2000 pound capacity.This blender-cooler is a water-jacketed trough with helical mixingblades that cools and blends the hot batches of powder proceeding fromthe Welex mixer. Four or five batches of the dry powder are mixed in theblender-cooler at a time for about 15 minutes. This blends all of thebatches and avoids lumping, and color-matching samples may be taken toinsure continuity of the color from one roll of the vinyl to another.The powder, which is now ready for extrusion, is stored in 1000 poundboxes prior to transport to the extruder.

EXTRUSION

In the Example below, the extruding apparatus is designed primarily forpowder input. The actual extrusion apparatus was manufactured by ModernPlastic Machinery and comprises a hopper input for gravity feed of thedry blended powder leading to a thick-walled cylindrical barrel which iselectrically heated and air cooled and vented. A screw comprising asingle helix having a square pitch is mounted for rotation by electricalmeans within the barrel and is cored for recirculation oftemperature-controlled water from a precision temperature controller. Itconveys the plastic composition along the barrel so that the compositionis transformed by frictional work input and barrel heat into ahomogeneous, hot melt and fed into a transition adapter. The latter is athick-walled pipe, electrically heated, which conducts the hot melt fromthe barrel to the feed opening of the output die.

The die itself is electrically heated and has a thick-walled clam-shellopening downwardly. Its inner cavity has a clothes-hanger or fan-shapedcross-section, widening gradually downward from the discharge end of thetransition adapter to the slot discharge opening of the die. The slothas one fixed lip and the other adjustable by screw pressure for precisethickness control of the plastic extrudate.

In practice, the temperature of the barrel, from the hopper end to thebeginning of the transition adapter, is electrically heated in sixstages as follows:

1. 300°-310° F.

2. 315°-325° F.

3. 330°-340° F.

4. 345°-355° F.

5. 360°-365° F.

6. 355°-360° F.

The blowers supply ambient air to keep the temperatures of the stageswithin the prescribed limits. The screw itself, as stated before, iscored for recirculation of water within the prescribed temperature rangeof about 50° F.

The extrudate is fed to a first set of rollers comprising a water-cooledmetallic embossing roller cooperating with a rubber-coated back-uproller which is also internally cooled by water and externally as well,the excess being squeegeed off. The rubber-covered roller is known asthe impression roller and its pressure against the textured steel rolleris precisely controlled by pneumatically operated pistons.

The rate at which the pair of nip rollers pulls the web from the dieslot largely determines the final thickness which, in one illustrativecase, is 0.011 inches by 571/2 inches. The web proceeds past the initialpair of nip rollers and is then drawn over driven chilled water coolingdrums since the web is still warm and might otherwise be pulled too thinby undriven drums. The web is then monitored by a thickness-measuringdevice and various edge-trimming devices are used to keep the width ofthe web within prescribed limits. Various control devices are used formonitoring or adjusting the speed of the various driven rollers tocompensate for changes in the thickness of the web due to thecontraction thereof when it is cooled. Finally, the web is applied to arewind turret which allows a fully-wound core to be set aside while thenext core is prepared for delivery of the web to it.

TOP COATING - LUSTER CONTROL

The next step after formation of the vinyl web is the application of atop coating of a luster control lacquer. This step gives the vinyl web aharder, dryer surface with a better feel, that is to say, a very pliabledry hand similar to leather, as well as a predetermined luster. The topcoating is made of a number of ingredients as follows:

1. A polyvinyl chloride resin such as Vygen 85 marketed by General Tire& Rubber. It has a medium molecular weight and is chosen as a compromisebetween higher molecular weight resins which might have greater abrasionresistance, but less solubility, and lower molecular weight resins whichhave greater solubility, but less abrasion resistance. This homopolymeris present in the range of 45-55 parts by weight with a preferred figureof 50 parts by weight.

2. Polymethylmethacrylate resin such as Lucite 2010 by DuPont which hasa high molecular weight. It is present in the range of 10-15 parts byweight with a preferred number of 13.75 parts by weight.

3. Silicon fluid, a surface lubricant, such as SF96 with a viscositymeasure of 100 centistokes. This constituent is marketed by GeneralElectric and imparts dry slip to the finished product.

4. Hydrated Silica such as Zeothix 95 marketed by the Huber Corporation.This is a dulling or anti-luster agent and is present in the range of14-18 parts by weight with the preferred number being 16.

5. Cyclohexanone Solvent such as the one produced by Union Carbide. Itis an oily solvent and is very useful in putting resins into solution.While its solvent properties are good, it is relatively slow to dry andtherefore is one of the two solvents that are actually used. It ispresent in the range of 100-150 parts by weight with the preferrednumber being 118 parts by weight.

6. Cellulose Acetate Butyrate resin which is added for anti-blockingpurposes. One very acceptable such resin is CAB 381 produced by EastmanChemical and has a viscosity rating of 0.5 seconds. It is present in therange of 1-3 parts by weight with a preferred number of 2 parts byweight.

7. Methyl Ethyl Ketone which is a low boiling point solvent that driesrapidly and is used to offset the high boiling point solvent inParagraph 5 above. It is added in the range of 300-400 parts by weight,a preferred number being about 370.

To prepare the top coating, the cyclohexanone is first poured into a 55gallon drum. A Cowles Dissolver comprising a variable speed 10" diametertoothed disc impeller mounted on a vertical shaft is lowered into thedrum and the shaft is rotated at 500 RPM. Then the resin powders and thehydrated silica duller are gradually added to the solvent until they aredispersed. Next, the methyl ethyl ketone solvent is added, filling upthe drum to the 40 gallon mark and the rate of mixing is increased to2000 rpm. When the solvent and other contents have been fully dispersed,the silicone fluid is added and mixed. Finally, half of that drum is putinto a second empty drum. Then, the viscosity of the contents of bothdrums is adjusted to 30-50 centipoises, the desired viscosity range forthe coating.

TOP-COATING APPARATUS

The next step is to apply the composition derived as explained above tothe vinyl web. The lacquer is inserted into feed troughs into whichgravure cylinders are partially submerged. These cylinders are parts ofprinting machines, such as the Liberty-type printing machine line, whichinclude two driven, engraved, chrome-plated, steel print cylinders. Thecylinders are pressed under pneumatic pressure against a commonrubber-covered steel idler roll. There may be more than one such pair ofprint cylinder-idler rolls in the machine depending upon the individualmachine's design. Any excess lacquer on the cylinders is scraped backinto the supply trough by a thin steel doctor blade. The vinyl web isdrawn from a supply roll on a rack, over supporting idler rollers,through edge guides (which prevent wrinkles and control the web width),around brake rollers and into the nip of the first driven gravurecylinder in contact with the rubber-covered idler back-up roller. Thenthe web is fed across a slat expander and, if desired, through a secondstation of two gravure cylinders rotating within troughs and in contactwith a common rubber-covered steel idler roll. From there, the coatedweb is taken away by the "apron" which is an endless canvas conveyorbelt, passing through an air drying tunnel where blowers are provided toevaporate practically all of the remaining solvent. The web is passedinto an accumulator, a set of horizontal steel rollers over which theweb is passed for two purposes. One is to control the tension on theweb. The other is to accumulate yardage of the web while acompletely-wound spindle is severed from the web and doffed at the sametime as a second empty spindle is attached to the web and begins to bedriven.

LAMINATION

The final step is the lamination of the coated vinyl web to a backing toform the composite finished product shown at the numeral 10 in FIG. 1.The composite comprises the coated vinyl web 13 joined by an adhesivelayer 12 to a knitted fabric 11. The knitted fabric 11 has a structureas shown in FIG. 2 which will be described in more detail later.

FIG. 4 shows the apparatus used to laminate the vinyl web produced bythe preceding steps with the knitted fabric material. The web 13 ispassed over idler rollers 14, 22 and 26 and into the nip formed by anadhesive applicator roll 32 and a rubber back-up roller 28. Roller 32 isdriven and revolves in a trough 30 of an aqueous adhesive, the level ofthe adhesive being maintained at a constant level by a pump feed and anoverflow return to a supply drum. The roller 32 may have helical groovescut in it. The web 13 passes between the applicator roll 32 and theidler roller 28 which is pressed against the applicator roll withcontrolled pressure from pneumatic cylinders not shown. The vinyl web 13enters the nip with approxiately 90° wrap so that the unfinished back ofthe vinyl 13 is coated uniformly with 2-4 mils of the wet adhesive.

In one preferred embodiment, the aqueous adhesive emulsion WA708,marketed by Electromek of Carlstadt, N.J. gave highly satisfactoryresults. Use of this adhesive enabled the laminate to achieve betterthan 3 pounds peel strength, the minimum usually designated for plasticfurniture covering applications.

Another adhesive that has been found to provide good adhesion comprisesthe use of 450 parts by weight of ethylene-vinyl acetate emulsion suchas "Elvacite 1875" produced by Reichold Chemical Company, and asurfactant such as Aerosol OT-75 marketed by American Cyanamide. This ispresent up to 2 parts by weight; preferably 1 part is used. The thirdingredient is Toluol present in 30-75 parts by weight, the preferredamount being 50 parts by weight. The surfactant and the Toluol are addedto the emulsion with slow stirring until thickening occurs.

At the same time, the knitted fabric 11 on reel 21 is passed aroundidler 23 and a slat expander 25 until it makes contact with the nowcoated web 13. The composite laminate material 36 then is passed overadditional idlers 37 and 38 and then over slot expanders 40 and 42 insequence. From the latter, it is wrapped around idler 44 and then arounda first Teflon-coated, 24" diameter steel drying (heated) drum 46. Thecomposite 36 is wrapped around the first heating drum 46 with lowtension and contacts approximately 270° of its surface.

The composite 36 then passes over an idler 48 and a second rubber idlerroll 50. Thence, it is again wrapped at low tension around a seconddrying (heated) Teflon-coated, 24 inch diameter drum 52. Both 24" Teflondrums are heated to 210°-215° F.

From the second drum, the composite 36 is passed around an idler 54 andthen around an 8-inch Teflon-coated roll 56. The latter is maintained ata temperature of 150° F. and the laminate 36 passes over it with a speedof 9 yards per minute.

From the roller 56, the laminate 36 passes lightly between rollers 58and 60 and then around idler 62 to the first cooling drum 64 which isdriven. This drum 64 is supplied with water at about 50° F. and so isthe next drum 66 so as to cool down the laminate 36 to ambienttemperature.

FABRIC CONSTRUCTION--FIGS. 2 AND 3

As started previously, this invention has for its object the preparationof a leather-like laminated vinyl fabric especially intended forcovering furniture. The inventors have been able to obtain an ultra-softlaminated vinyl plastic which has a leather-like hand and drape and hascontrolled multi-directional stretch to accommodate the needs ofupholstery manufacturers. It also has to have a minimal peel strength tostand up to the heavy usage to which upholstery covering is usually put.

In order to produce the kind of laminated vinyl fabric as portrayed inFIG. 1, which has the desired characteristics and in which the fabricbacking matches or complements the characteristics of the vinyl,considerable thought and experimentation gave rise to the fabric shownin FIGS. 2 and 3. The fabric had to be suitable for production, not betoo heavy relative to the thickness of the unsupported vinyl and havethe desired stretch characteristics. The objectives included the minimalcontact of the backing to the vinyl consistent with a predeterminedminimal peel strength and also with the desired compliance, softness,hand and drape of the composite laminated fabric. It was also desiredthat the surface of the vinyl be smooth or at least have the desiredtexturizing, but not show the imprint of the backing fabric. This wouldrender the appearance of the composite fabric displeasing and tend tomake the composite "boardy" or stiff instead of supple.

In order to achieve the suppleness and the desired hand, it was foundthat as few stitches as possible of the backing should be bonded to thevinyl by the intermediate adhesive. Furthermore, at the points ofbonding, it was desired that the contact stitches or portions thereofpenetrate only minimally into the inner surface of the vinyl so that theyarns of the backing fabric would have more mobility and the vinyl couldbe more resilient, compliant or supple to achieve the desired hand.

FIG. 2 is a view of a highly satisfactory backing fabric which waslaminated onto the under surface of unsupported vinyl by means of theadhesive(s) mentioned above in connection with the description of thelaminating process. The fabric is knitted in a mock double-knitconstruction. It is not a finished fabric and was designed, in part, forcontrolled stretching in both the lengthwise and widthwise directions.

As shown in FIG. 2, the fabric is of an interlock double-knitconstruction. FIG. 2 shows the various knitted stitches and their travelin the fabric. As shown, the surface appearing closest to the reader isthe one which is bonded to the back of the vinyl itself. It is so madethat it will have the ability to become strongly hamated to the adhesivelayer 12 shown in FIG. 1. This surface, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, has arecurrent cycle of six feeds producing six courses a through f. Of thesecourses, courses c and f are minimally made of a spun yarn. Such spunyarns can be made of, for example, pure polyester or blends of polyesterand cotton such as 75% polyester to 25% cotton, 65% polyester to 35%cotton, 50% polyester to 50% cotton. One such yarn that has been foundhighly satisfactory for this purpose is a 30/1 Tillinghast-Stiles50%--50% blend, polyester-cotton carded natural knitting, waxed,twist-on cones yarn. It is seen that in courses c and f, there is astitch on every other needle. In course c, the stitch is on every evencylinder needle C; in course f, the loop or stitch is on every oddcylinder needle C'. In both courses, however, there is no stitch on theintervening dial needles. Also, the long loops in course c, which extendupward two courses above the course being knitted, are displacedlaterally one wale from the corresponding loop of course f. Theconstruction of courses c and f is such as to control stretch in thewidth direction of the backing fabric.

If desired, courses other than courses c and f may be knitted of spunyarns identical to or similar to spun yarns prevously mentioned inconnection with courses c and f. In the particular example shown,courses b and e were also formed of the same yarn although, as shown inthe needle diagram of FIG. 3, and in the loop diagram of FIG. 2, thestitches are made differently. The stitches of those two courses, asshown in the needle diagram of FIG. 3, are complementary to one another.That is, whereas stitches are formed in b on odd ones of the cylinderneedles C' in course b and on even dial needles D' in that same course;the opposite is true in course e. Each of the loops on courses b and eextend upwardly for two courses, but the alternate loops of each ofthose courses are mostly not in contact with the adhesive. This minimalcontact helps to produce the suppleness of the hand of the compositefabric.

Courses a and d are not made of spun yarns; rather, they are made ofpolyester filament yarns such as the Sher-Mishkin single 100-34, natural4736/12 yarns. The construction of the stitches on the dial and cylinderneedles in course a is complementary to that of the stitches on coursed. The loops on the dial needles D as shown in FIG. 2 extend upwardlyfor four courses, but are largely out of contact with the adhesivedirectly. The loops on the even cylinder needles C extend upward onlytwo courses, but are largely in contact with the adhesively-coatedsurface of the vinyl. In course d, the loops are offset from the loopsin course a and the same construction is found.

The fabric may be made on various types of machines such as the 30"diameter interlock knitting cylindrical machines or on double-knitmachines in which, in order to provide the type of construction atcourses c and f, on the third and sixth feeds of the machine'speriphery, the welting or non-use of needles can occur either in thecylinder or in the dial. The polyester filament yarns impart thenecessary strength to the backing fabric. The example just explainedattains the desirable minimal contact of the yarns to the adhesiveachieved in large part by the use of yarns that are chosen to adheremost firmly without impairing the hand yet providing the necessarystrength and stretch in both directions.

What is claimed is:
 1. A process for making a laminated vinyl fabriccomprising:(a) preparing a mixture comprising substantially equalproportions of at least one vinyl resin and of at least one plasticizertherefor; (b) extruding said prepared mixture into the form of a webhaving a thickness sufficient to be self-supporting; (c) promptlyembossing a first surface of said newly-extruded web while said web isstill hot from said extrusion; (d) applying an aqueous adhesive to asecond surface of said web; and (e) laminating said second surface ofthe embossed web to one surface of a double knit backing fabric at amaximum temperature of about 220° F., said fabric having a structuresuch that only superficial portions of said one surface of said backingfabric contact said adhesive, said adhesive portion substantially notpenetrating into said second surface of said web.
 2. A process formaking a textured, laminated, synthetic fabric having a pleasing hand,comprising:(a) preparing a mixture having major proportions of at leastone vinyl resin and at least one plasticizer; (b) extruding saidprepared mixture into the form of a web having a thickness sufficient tobe self-supporting and so as to totally avoid the need for a supportingcarrier strip; (c) promptly embossing a first surface of thenewly-extruded web while said web is still hot from extrusion; (d)applying an adhesive to a second surface of said newly-extruded web; and(e) laminating said second surface of the embossed web to one surface ofa knitted backing fabric at a maximum temperature of about 220° F. 3.The method of claim 2 wherein the knitted backing fabric has apredetermined pattern and the thickness of the extruded web issufficient to prevent the backing fabric pattern to be visible on thesurface of the web opposite the surface laminated to the adhesive. 4.The process according to claim 1 wherein said plasticizer and resin areeach present in the range of about 40-42% by weight in said mixture. 5.The process according to claim 1 wherein said plasticizer comprises amixture of different plasticizers.
 6. The process according to claim 5wherein said mixture of plasticizers comprises monomeric and polymericplasticizers.
 7. The process according to claim 1 wherein said resin iscomprised of high and low molecular weight resins.
 8. The processaccording to claim 7 wherein up to about 75 parts by weight of saidmixture are fillers.
 9. The process according to claim 8 wherein up toabout 10 parts by weight of said mixture comprises pigments and/orlubricants.
 10. The process according to claim 1 wherein said knittedfabric is of an interlocked double-knit construction.
 11. The processaccording to claim 10 wherein said knitted fabric comprises spun yarnsmade of polyester and cotton in the ratio of 100%-0% polyester to 0-50%cotton.
 12. The process according to claim 10 wherein said double-knitfabric comprises spun yarns and filament yarns and selected ones of saidspun yarns are positioned to adhere to the surface of said web oppositesaid embossed surface.
 13. The process according to claim 2 with theaddition of a top-coating step after said embossing step for impartingdesired surface characteristics to said embossed first surface of theweb.
 14. The process according to claim 2 with the addition of atop-coating step after said laminating step for imparting desiredsurface characteristics to said embossed first surface of the web. 15.The process according to claim 1 wherein said adhesive is an aqueousadhesive.
 16. The process according to claim 15 wherein said aqueousadhesive is an emulsion.
 17. The process according to claim 1 whereinsaid resin is a polyvinyl chloride resin and wherein said maximumtemperature is in the range of about 200° F.-220° F.
 18. The processaccording to claim 1 wherein, during lamination, conveying of said webis done at wrap tension.
 19. The process according to claim 1 whereinsaid resin is polyvinylchloride and wherein said resin and saidplasticizer are present in substantially the same percentages by weightin said mixture.
 20. The process according to claim 1 wherein saidbacking fabric is disposed relative to the second surface of said websuch that only selected portions of said knitted fabric adhere to saidsecond surface of said web where said adhesive is disposed.